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With an impressive routine in front of a spirited crowd in its home gym, the Rockbridge County High School competition cheerleading team won the four-team Wildcat Rumble, RC’s first home competition in nearly seven years, last Wednesday night in Lexington.
The Wildcats faced three nondistrict opponents. Rustburg placed second, Salem finished third, and Waynesboro came in fourth. Scores were not provided.
It was the first-ever win at home for the Wildcats, who were led by seven seniors. Before the competition, the Wildcats honored their seniors: Addy Clark, Ella Culp, Myranda Deacon, Addie Flint, Emma Hall, Emily Humphreys and Cameron Terry.
RC head coach Shannon Bryan said that all of her seniors are strong vocal leaders. “They always like to give their speeches right before every competition to pump up the team and get them ready to go out there on the mat,” said Bryan.
Other members of RC’s team are juniors Lillian Ballard, Gabriella Brown, Riley McDaniel, Emma Mines and Willow Rogers; sophomore Celia Jones and freshmen Sofia Gaydos, Ariana Mitchell and Natasha Shorter.
Pleased by how her cheerleaders performed, Bryan said, “I think the biggest thing is they really brought energy to the mat. They were happy to perform. They were out there and just performing a routine. This year, too, they really liked the actual choreography.”
Bryan said the win “means the most to our seniors here. They’ve been working hard for it for four years, and their freshman year, they made it to [the regional competition]. They’ve had a goal in mind to make it to [the state competition], so today is a sign that hopefully it will happen.”
The RC coach was also grateful for the Wildcats’ fans, with many parents gathering close to the mat to take photos and videos while cheering. “The fans were great today,” said Bryan. “They definitely brought the energy. We had a lot come out to Heritage [on Sept. 14], and having a home competition really gave us that extra support that we needed to make things happen.”
The top two teams from the Valley District will advance to the Region 3C competition, and the top two teams from the Region 3C competition will advance to the Class 3 state competition.
Helping Bryan guide the Wildcats are assistant coaches Ellie Kabzinski, Sarah Parnell and Lindsey Ramsey.
Today, Wednesday, the Wildcats will compete at Rustburg at 6 p.m. On Saturday, they’ll travel to Glenvar High School in Salem for an 8 a.m. competition.
